UAE embraces AI but only a third use ‘transformative’ powers

• Business uptake rises 19 points
• Challenge is to promote deeper use
• Skills shortage cited as an obstacle

Nearly three-quarters of UAE businesses are using artificial intelligence as technology adoption accelerates across the country, a survey has found.

AI uptake has jumped 19 percentage points over the past year, from 53 percent to 72 percent, according to research by Amazon Web Services (AWS), launched in collaboration with the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Office.

However, just under a third of businesses that use AI deploy it at a “transformative” level, up from 28 percent in 2025. This includes custom systems and advanced workflows, while 47 percent remain focused on more basic applications such as routine tasks and chatbots.

The study surveyed 1,000 business leaders, including C-suite executives and founders, across all seven emirates, as well as 1,000 members of the public.

Chris Erasmus, managing director for the UAE and Mena markets at AWS, said the next challenge was turning widespread adoption into deeper use.

“What we now need to do is help the economy move from basic experimentation to execution,” he said at the report’s launch in Dubai.

Tanuja Randery, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at AWS, told AGBI that advanced adoption remained at “about one in three businesses”, with financial services and media among those further ahead.

In her keynote address at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Randery highlighted UAE companies already using AI extensively.

Rakbank – the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah – built a digital banking platform with a hyperscaler in less than nine months before launching Rai, an AI-powered digital assistant. Rai has since handled 1.8 million conversations, with 74 percent resolved without human intervention, according to AWS.

Careem, the Dubai-founded super-app that serves more than 75 million customers, worked with AWS to keep its services running during the US-Iran war and has committed to bringing its generative AI workloads to Amazon Bedrock, AWS’s generative AI platform.

Sector split

The research, conducted by consultancy Strand Partners, found AI use was highest in media and entertainment at 82 percent, followed by 79 percent in financial services, 76 percent in retail and 69 percent in hospitality.

The UAE has invested heavily in AI infrastructure and encouraged adoption across government and the private sector.

Dr Abdelrahman Al Mahmoud, director at the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, said the focus was on creating the right environment for organisations to “innovate, scale new solutions and translate the potential of AI into meaningful outcomes for society”.

AWS said it plans to invest up to AED20.1 billion ($5.5 billion) in its UAE cloud region by 2037, which it estimates will contribute AED41 billion to national GDP.

AWS is rebuilding parts of its UAE cloud infrastructure damaged during the US-Iran war. The company has been unable to restore access to data and resources held exclusively in one of its three UAE availability zones.

Addressing the talent gap

Skills remain one of the obstacles to deeper adoption, with nearly half of businesses citing shortages as a barrier.

“It takes just under six months for an organisation to hire AI specialists,” Erasmus said. “Think about how quickly we’re trying to move in the market. You want to unlock use cases, you want to unlock value.”

AWS’s AI Nation-Afaaq programme aims to give 30,000 people across the UAE free access to training. The company also works with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

Funding and regulation are added barriers. Among businesses not ready for next-generation AI, 38 percent cited financial constraints and 21 percent legal uncertainty.

Further reading:

• Talent squeeze and ‘death by pilot’ – UAE’s big AI challenges
• G42’s Inception says Gulf businesses risk superficial AI adoption
• War damage forces costly rethink of AI infrastructure